Nine-man Wingate & Finchley are defeated at Kingstonian

10:38 18 February 2014

Wingate & Finchley goalkeeper Bobby Smith. Pic: Martin Addison

Archant

Kingstonian laboured to a 1-0 win against nine-man Wingate and Finchley last night, with Blues goalkeeper Bobby Smith emerging as the hero after denying the home side’s striker Ryan Moss time and again.

Kingstonian scored the decisive goal in only the third minute through Ryan Moss, and visiting W&F were then reduced to 10 men as Bobby Aisien was sent off in the 25th minute, while Ahmet Rifat was also dismissed moments after the half-time whistle.

That left Daniel Nielsen’s side will a tough task after the interval, but Smith ensured that Kingstonian were unable to get a killer second goal and had to be on their guard until the end.

Wingate started the brighter as Spencer McCall fired in an early shot which was deflected wide.

However, they conceded from their own corner soon afterwards as the ball was pumped forward to Moss, who slotted past Smith with a left-footed strike.

It was an end to end game, with Wingate’s Ola Sogbanmu missing a volley from close range before Smith parried a Moss header.

The game then changed midway through the half as Aisien was adjudged to have made a professional foul outside the area, although there appeared to be covering defenders.

Wingate were riled by the ensuing red card and, although they comfortably saw out the rest of the first half, Rifat was also dismissed as the players headed to the tunnel for the interval for two acts of dissent.

Kingstonian were clearly low on confidence following a poor run of form, and they were lacklustre in the second period when they really could have put the visitors to the sword.

Moss should have scored when he was played through in the box, but Smith rushed out to deny him – and the Kingstonian forward then skimmed a header beyond the far post before hitting the bar with a volley.

Despite those chances, Wingate defended resolutely and were organised at the back, looking to hit Kingstonian on the counter – and substitutes Hector Morante and Anton Olondo both tried to upset the odds with shots from the edge of the area but missed the target.

The home side were getting nervous as the second goal failed to materialise, and Aaron Goode had a shot which Smith parried the ball away at the near post.

With a few minutes remaining, Smith was left exposed and brought down a forward inside the box.

However, he escaped as Andre McCollin hit the post from the resulting penalty - a moment which epitomised the match - but it mattered little as the referee soon brought proceedings to a close and Kingstonian gratefully banked the three points.

Head coach Peter Breen says Hampstead have been driven on to improve by Belsize Park’s progress, and he believes a new local rivalry will help to get the best out of his side as the two clubs prepare to meet in Saturday’s derby clash.

Tottenham ended their run of defeats at Wembley Stadium by beating CSKA Moscow 3-1, finishing third in Group E of the Champions League and thereby qualifying for the last 32 of the Europa League. Here are five talking points.